According to my (many) English Heritage emails, Down House and garden is one of the best of their sites to visit in the autumn. We went expecting a show of bright autumn colours but I have to say we were rather disappointed.
However, there were compensations. There were autumn colours aplenty on the drive down with the low autumn sun sparkling through the yellow trees.
The house itself is very interesting. The staff were friendly and welcoming and keen to impart their knowledge of Charles Darwin and to ensure that we were enjoying our visit. The original kitchen with its flag-stoned floor is a good place to start with coffee and cakes.
Charles Darwin lived in the house for 40 years with his wife, Emma Wedgewood (also his first cousin). They had ten children, seven of whom survived beyond the age of eleven. Darwin was an unconventional Victorian father, allowing the children into his study and providing them with the means to play noisily in the house, building a wooden slide that fitted on one of the staircases.
Continue reading Down at Down House
Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society 